I travel a lot these days. And most of that travel happens by air. Whether I'm motivating a group of educators on the west coast with improv games, or lightening the mood at a corporate sales convention on the east coast, or flying to address a local chamber of commerce right here in the flyover, I wind up spending a lot of time in airports. And I'll admit it: Sometimes I get bored and want to test out the obscure and arbitrary rules created by the TSA. So here's one you might not know about:
OATMEAL YES. YOGURT NO!
On a recent trip I purchased some oatmeal prior to my airport screening. But with little time to board, and not wanting to go too hard and fast on the quick oats while shuffling my bags forward, I inquired at the first stop in the TSA food chain whether my oatmeal might trigger a pat down? Or a choke hold.
Of course the agent was too distracted checking out my DL picture that looks nothing like me to answer. She scribbles something on my boarding pass -- they always scribble. I wonder if her markings are code for "Anthrax in oatmeal, take him down!" But I'm still bored, so I ask again and she says, "Give it a try!" I'm shocked, but think, "Sure, it's not her quick oats! Easy for her to say." Then again, getting a jovial or kind response from a TSA agent is on par with lightning striking a winning power ball ticket. So I powered ahead and made it through the deadly body scan with oatmeal intact. It felt like I'd just completed a key move in a diamond heist with Clooney and Pitt.
